Bionic kangaroo produces its own energy, human gestures control every move

A bionic kangaroo has been built and is producing its own energy. Festo, a German automation firm, has made the robotic animal listen to human gestures in order for it to move about. The robotic creature stores up and uses the kinetic energy from its own movements.

Weighing in at 15.4 pounds and topping off at about three feet, three inches tall the robot does not move as swiftly as its natural-born counterpart. Inventors took more than two years to develop the tech animal, with its body parts consisting of elastic tendons, pneumatics and servos to create enough energy to hop about as the animal's signature move. Inside of each leg is a pneumatic cylinder paired with an elastic tendon. When the robotic creature is switched on, the tendons are already pre-tensed and the robot leans forward in turn shifting its center of gravity. The creature's pneumatic cylinders release the tendons only once the perfect angle with the best velocity is achieved—then the robot jumps into the air. Moving the legs forward and lifting the tail are servos. It converts the kinetic energy from the jump into stored energy
when it executes its landing. In addition to the robotic kangaroo being able to generate its own energy, it uses lithium polymer rechargeable batteries, which can be taken out of the kangaroo to be charged up. Gesture-controlled, the team installed the robot with a Bluetooth device where it can communicate with the robot using a special bracelet, according to an article on cnet.com.au. The BionicKangaroo will not be made available for commercial use. This creation is rather a proof-of-concept that shows off how pneumatic and electric drive tech can come together to produce energy to both recover and store in the robot. Festo has created a short video for viewers to watch and see how the robotic kangaroo works in action. The short clip, which last for about three minutes, proves just how far technology has come. The video of the new creation can be viewed below, and can also be watched on Festo.com or YouTube. Source: http://sputniknews.com/